Biography George Loring Brown

Nicknamed "Claude" Brown for the French landscape painter Claude Lorraine whom he admired, Brown was among the most celebrated of American painters living abroad in the 19th century.

He was born in Boston, and decided as a youngster to make a living as an artist. He apprenticed to a wood engraver, Abel Bowen, and then illustrated children's books. A friend, noting his talent for landscape painting, encouraged him to devote himself to that subject, and the purchase of one of these by a wealthy Boston merchant allowed Brown to go to Europe in 1832.

He began his artistic career as an apprentice to Abel Bowen, and received further training from Eugene Isabey in Paris during his first trip to Europe in 1832-33.